This week I have Dawn Kelly on the show. I'm excited for this episode, not only because we cover her career journey but also because we delve into a truly important conversation related to today's social climate. Dawn spent decades climbing the corporate ladder to become the department Vice President at Prudential Financial. She is a proven public relations and strategic communications executive.

A major theme of this episode touches on is that oftentimes we believe we have security in corporate America. We believe that businesses have an equal investment in us, but we regularly see individuals with the rug pulled out from under them. Dawn worked for Prudential for 16 years but was blindsided by a layoff in 2015. It left her with an immense amount of grief. Although this tragedy touched many of us, Dawn's experience as a black woman in corporate America is vital to understand. She realized that her race played an immense part in her treatment as well as her abrupt layoff. It's important to listen to and highlight these stories of discrimination and microaggressions to move forward in a positive way. Understanding the gravity of these demeaning actions will help us show up in the world in a highly impactful way. Today Dawn is serving and feeding her community with The Nourish Spot in Jamaica, Queens. She is committed to serving healthy, balanced meals to underserved communities and works to create programs to help build children up. Dawn really is the epitome of a go-getter and true inspiration to us all.